With a distinctive look and gregarious personality Obsidian Hornet is an easy woman to remember. Formerly a brutal bandit and unscrupulous mercenary Obsidian Hornet has realized the pain she has caused by her actions and has dedicated her life to re-balancing her karmic scales. While she may be brusque, rude, or even violent her actions come from a desire to make the world a better place.

Character

Golden Shadow: This is her birth name. It is only known to her biological family and the few people in Abalathia’s Spine that knew her as a child.

Hornet: Among friends she prefers to be known just as Hornet.

Appearance

Face: The meticulous care that Hornet gives to her appearance is most evident in her face. Her skin is pampered and free from blemish or scarring at first glance. A very keen eye might notice a faint mark or two on her cheek or forehead but she has done everything she can to make sure they go unnoticed. She keeps her bright blonde hair in a simple slicked-back style with a few strands left free to hang over her ears and frame her face. Her hair receives the same kind of pampering that she gives her skin and it displays all the hallmarks of good health. Her features are soft with rounded cheek-bones and a slightly short chin. Her nose is nearly flat and casts only the barest of silhouettes in profile. Her lips are quite full, almost plump even, and she stains them with a glossy black lip-stain that stands out sharply against her natural skin tone.

Eyes: Hornet has taken special care to make her eyes as dramatic as possible without crossing the line into garishness. Her eyes are generally almond shaped and are tilted up slightly at the outside corners. The color of her eyes is a rich, lustrous sort of dark grey that one might expect from a highly polished river stone. A band of yellow paint is carefully arranged across her eyes extending to her ears on each side. The bright yellow stands at a sharp contrast to the dark shine of her irises and creates an effect of which she is quite proud. The yellow paint matches the color of her eyebrows and renders them nearly invisible above her eyes. Without the paint on her eyebrows are visible and quite sharp, giving her face an aggressive quality that is hidden by the band of paint.

Body: The amount of clothing Hornet is wearing at a given time would lead to two very different impressions of her body. Fully clothed she would appear to have a very lovely figure and achieving an hourglass silhouette. Her skin is soft, apart from the palms of her hands, and she keeps herself meticulously clean and clear of hair on her legs and underarms. With large breasts, a tapered waist, and wide hips she typically dresses to accentuate her femininity and showcase these assets. However, if she is less than fully dressed a very different image is revealed in addition those assets. The rigorous care Hornet gives to maintaining her appearance is very evident in her body. Not as tall or quite as massive as many Roegadyn, Hornet has done everything she can to make up for her relative lack of size in working to build herself into a very impressive physical specimen. Muscular, but not quite bulky, Hornet’s shoulders, arms and back display years-worth of rigorous conditioning. Her abdomen is clearly toned but not quite defined into a six-pack. Powerful legs move her easily and are an indicator of the great endurance she possesses.

Behavior

Voice: Hornet’s voice was sculpted throughout her childhood to embody elegance and erudition. She was taught to speak in a low, pleasing tone that suggests that she is the master of whatever situation she finds herself in. She was taught that confidence should always be apparent when speaking, even if it is feigned. Since leaving home she has rebelled against this mode of speech and has worked to incorporate more of a casual style into her speaking. Her early training is so ingrained though that she finds herself slipping back into her formal manner of speaking very easily.

Demeanor: Hornet generally tries to project a carefree, easygoing demeanor. Depending on the situation though her demeanor can change radically. What tends to shine through no matter how she presents herself is a deep and abiding sense of personal pride.

Personality: Among friends Hornet is a smiling, laughing, inquisitive presence who prefers to ask questions of others rather than speak about herself. She can be playfully flirtatious or insulting but the latter she reserves for people she is sure would understand it’s a joke. In fact, the more she likes someone as a friend the more brutal her insults tend to be. When at work she is crisp, cool, and above all else professional. In a fight she can be at turns laughing and mocking her opponent or a grim-faced executioner depending on the situation and how threatened she feels.

Flaws: Hornet has a tendency to let first impressions cloud her judgment of a person even if new information comes to light that might improve her perception of them or show them to be untrustworthy. She is cocky, quick to anger, and has a tendency to latch on to the small details of a situation and miss the bigger picture.

Intelligence: Above average, but not tremendously so, Hornet's intellect has neither created or solved any of her biggest problems. She has received a rigorous education in the 'classic' style with a focus on literature, grammer, rhetoric, and comportment. During her life she has also gained impressive street-smarts that have served her well.

Religious Views: Worship of the Twelve has never really been a priority for her. She understands that it is important to some people and certainly doesn't look down on people who are devout but it just has never factored into her life. She is sure the Twelve exist but is quite certain that there existence doesn't really mean anything to her day-to-day life.

Romance: She wants to be someone who is distrustful of love and a romantic skeptic but that would just be an act. In truth, she is a deeply romantic person and has an almost childlike fascination with love stories. She believes whole heartedly in the big, sweeping, dramatic sort of love that she has read about in books starring knights and fair maidens. These children’s stories are something she has clung to throughout her life as a kind of shield to prove to herself that there is something wonderful in the world. This isn’t to say that she falls in love easily (it’s only happened three times) but that she views love as perhaps the only thing in the world that can truly make a difference.

Sexuality: Love and sex are very different things to Hornet. What she does with her body has little to no bearing on where her heart lies. She is attracted to both sexes equally and most of the time has more than one partner in her life. Recently she has taken to being much more selective with her partners. Hornet is very careful to make sure that her partners are not in a committed relationship with another person or, if they are, that all parties are okay with Hornet's presence.

Combat

Obsidian Hornet is a very competent fighter in a variety of forms. She is someone who enjoys non-lethal combat a great deal for the physical rush and as a way to satisfy her competitive nature. Fighting has been a part of her life since she was old enough to lift her fists. Even enjoying it as much as she does, she does not relish killing or take pleasure in causing pain. If she kills, it’s for a reason, and she doesn’t drag out the fight longer than she has to.

Style: This depends entirely on whether she has decided to kill. In what she considers a non-lethal fight she tends to move around quite a bit, using lighter prodding strikes to either wear down or mock her opponent. In non-lethal fights that she considers serious or important she prefers to use a single heavy blow to disable her opponent and encourage them to stop fighting. In a life or death situation she is utterly humorless. When she intends to kill there is no wasted movement and she will bide her time looking for an opening to deliver a single killing blow.

Strengths: Hornet is very skilled in the use of the two-handed axe and the lance. She prefers weapons with reach and weight, particularly in lethal combat scenarios. She is very aware of her own mortality and has no desire to rush in like a mad dog. She is competent with sword and shield but is still in the process of learning to properly handle them. She has some skill as a hand-to-hand fighter but doesn’t prescribe to any particular martial form preferring to use her strength to overwhelm opponents. She is incredibly flexible and agile with very sharp reflexes and has worked hard to improve her awareness on the battlefield.

Weaknesses: Hornet has no aetheric abilities and relies entirely on her body to see her through. She is confident to the point of cockiness and as a result can bite off more than she can chew when it comes to fighting. Her style of fighting relies on overwhelming single strikes so a particularly quick or sturdy opponent can tire her out.

Tendencies

Likes

Gil

Rich tasting foods

Beautiful people and things

Talented performers, dancers in particular

Dislikes

Unhygienic people

Small insects, midges in particular

Crass or boorish people

Men who treat women poorly

Family

Obsidian Hornet has a large family and is the youngest of seven children. She has not had any contact with her family in over ten years.

Father:Mountain Shadow – A famous mercenary who started his family later in life. By the time Hornet was a teenager he was beginning to fall into dementia. He was largely absent from her life but the in the times they were together he was very kind and loving to her.

Mother:Frost Lotus – She was a very beautiful Roegadyn woman. She was half her husband’s age when they were married. She is a highly skilled Thaumaturge and Arcanist. She was very stern disciplinarian and fostered a very intense climate of competition amongst her children.

Stone Shadow – Brother, seven years older than Hornet. He was kind of lost in the shuffle but wanted very badly to be appreciated by his family, his mother in particular.

Silver Shadow – Sister, three years older than Hornet. Silver was Hornet’s rival from a very young age. Quite plainly, Hornet and her sister hate one another. Particularly since Hornet effectively destroyed her sisters marriage by seducing the groom soon after the wedding.

Bronze Shadow – Brother, one year older than Hornet. He was a meek guy that Hornet bullied more than a little bit when she was growing up. Despite that, or because of it, he is the sibling that Hornet most likes.

Player Character Standings

Friends and loved ones

♥♥●Gharen Wolfsong – Hornet first met Gharen at a Grindstone training meet-up and was immediately smitten. After a few matches that were more flirting than fighting (for her at least) she admitted her affection for him. She feels a tremendous amount of sympathy for Gharen and what he's been through as it reminds her of her own upbringing. She truly believes that some day Gharen will be able to put his rage behind him and fully embrace the wonderful man that she knows he is. After her return she learned of what Delial Grimsong and Raelisanne Banurein did to him while he was imprisoned. She has agreed to not raise her axe against Delial unless Gharen asks her too. She has not yet met Banurein but is eagerly awaiting their first meeting and sharpening her axe as she waits.

♥♥●Fleeting Dawn – Hornet first met Fleeting during a game at the pub in Aleport. They began a physical relationship very quickly and not long after Hornet realized that she had deeper feelings for Fleeting. Their relationship was quite turbulent. They fought often, made-up often, and got Hornet permanently banned from the Mizzenmast in one such episode. Much of the friction in their relationship came from Fleeting's feelings for Dennthota Ahtahrmwyn and Hornet and Dennthota's conflicting personalities. This culminated in a series of confrontations that led to Hornet's decision to travel the world. Fleeting was understandably upset by Hornet's decision to leave. Since Hornet has returned, she has not seen or heard anything of Fleeting. Hornet's assumption is that Fleeting has made good on her threats to go off and be a hermit somewhere in the mountains. Hornet is unsure of what would happen or how she would feel if she were to ever see Fleeting Dawn again.

♥♥●Anais Fleurdevide – Anais is Hornet's closest friend and also a fairly frequent lover of Hornet's. They've known one another for years having worked on the same crew of brigands in the Black Shroud before the Calamity struck. They drifted apart when Anais left to captain her own sailing ship and run refugees out of Garlean held territory. They reunited when Anais asked Hornet to assist her in forming the Black Lotus Cartel, a Free Company under the auspices of the Maelstrom. Even though the Black Lotus Cartel dissolved after only a few months Hornet and Anais remain best friends. Hornet visits Anais whenever she can at Anais's shop in Costa del Sol.

●Roen Deneith – Roen has earned a very special place in Hornet's heart since Hornet found out that Roen was responsible in large part for Gharen's rescue and care after his ordeal. While Hornet feels that Roen may be too sweet for her own good Hornet has promised herself to do everything she can to help Roen with whatever she may need.

●Dhemgeim Shyrdoenwyn – Though Hornet often has difficulty understanding what Dhem is saying she has become rather fond of Dhem. Dhemgeim strikes Hornet as a woman after her own heart in many ways. Hornet has come to find herself feeling very attracted to Dhem but for some reason is having a little trouble working up the nerve to make a move. Despite her promise to herself to not lose her head Hornet has been slowly and steadily falling further and further under Dhemgeim's spell. Hornet has accepted recently that she will not be with Dhemgeim and is fighting to change the love she feels for Dhem from a romantic one into a platonic one.

●Tausenadel Geispyrsyn – Tau is someone Hornet has been acquainted with for a long time but is just recently getting to know better. His disappearance and the subsequent situation with Dhemgeim has cooled Hornets opinion of Tau considerably.

●Daghbheri Himalspyr – Under other circumstance, Hornet would probably get along fine with Daghbheri. Given their unfortunate position as romantic rivals (at least for a time) and Hornets being on the losing end of that fight Hornet's attitude toward Daghbheri has cooled somewhat. She's working hard to try and view Daghbheri as, if not a friend, at least a positive person in her life. She put her word behind Daghbheri and is watching him very closely.

●Salty Lake – Hornet feels a great deal of pity for Salty Lake. Hornet thinks she is a very sweet woman, kind to a fault and far too trusting for her own good.

♥●Kaylie Epocan - Hornet has taken a special interest in this tiny miqo'te girl. She sees in Kaylie someone who has been handed the worst in life and who deserves love and support to help build herself up. She imagines Kaylie as a little sister and she tries to be the best big sister she can for her.

♥●Mireille Badeau - Mireille is a woman who Hornet first got to know after she literally fell into Hornet's arms. Elegant, beautiful, refined, delicate, and with a core of pure iron Mireille has captured Hornet's attention and imagination. Hornet often finds herself distracted when in Mireille's persence, as one might be by the sparkle of a nearby jewel.

♥●Eleanor Tataeno - Hornet finds herself fascinated by Eleanor. She wonders perhaps if Eleanor is a woman like herself, displaying strength for the world to see and shielding a gentle core from others. She greatly enjoys her time with Eleanor and has quietly become infatuated with her.

Enemies

●Dennthota Ahtahrmwyn – Dennthota and Hornet have quite a bit of history between them. Hornet and Denn got off on the wrong foot when Denn became incensed when Hornet refused a dare under the conditions of a game of Truth or Dare. Hornet refused the dare primarily because of how funny she thought Denn's anger was. Things have deteriorated from there. Dennthota's affiliations and actions, particularly those that put Fleeting Dawn into harms way, earned Hornet's ire and the two have had many confrontations. Hornet does not actively want to kill Dennthota, despite Denn's attempt on Hornet's life, and would prefer to simply never have to interact with Dennthota again.

●Delial Grimsong – Hornet has only recently become aware of and met this woman. Her haughty demeanor in a situation where she, in Hornet's estimation, should have been begging for forgiveness created an instant dislike in Hornet. Life is a bit funny that way, if Delial had not been a party to the capture and torture of Gharen Wolfson, Hornet would probably have gotten along famously with Delial. As it stands though, Hornet has only refrained from attempting to kill her because Gharen has not deemed it necessary yet.

●Raelisanne Banurein – Hornet does not know this woman personally. What she does know is that Banurein is responsible for Gharen's capture and torture. Currently she is the only person that Hornet actively wishes to murder.

●Natalie Mcbeef - Hornet became aware of Natalie as the woman responsible for Roen's capture and torture. While she has not heard either Roen or Gharen express their opinion of Natalie, Hornet is determined to end Natalie at the first clean opportunity.

Rumors

Common Rumors:

”That one's Hornet. She's here at the Bismark at least two or three times a week. Spends gil like she thinks it's bad luck to have a full coin purse. Great tipper.”

”She and that Elezen friend of hers were in the Coffer and Coffin a while ago. She was head to toe in bright yellow plate armor. Some poor fella mistook her for a man and she took him outside and laid him out. Wouldn't cross her.”

”I can tell you one thing, that woman seems to hate wearing shirts like I hate Garleans.”

Moderate Rumors:

”Shut up, shut up! She'll hear you! Yeah I recognize her. A couple years after the Calamity she flagged down me down on the road to Ul'dah. She smiled real pretty then suddenly had a knife at my throat. Robbed me blind and gave me a kiss on the cheek for my trouble.”

”I saw her get into an altercation in Ul'dah once, right there out in the open. Fighting with another Roegadyn woman until her friends showed up and they hauled her off to the Flames headquarters. Don't know what that was all about...”

”Ran into her outside the Maelstrom command. She was acting pretty chummy with a Maelstrom officer and a couple of Yellow Jackets. They were making plans to get drinks some time if I heard them right.”

Rare rumors:

”Now that you mention it, she does look familiar. Bit older than when I saw her but back when I ran supplies to private family holds in the Spine I made deliveries to her family. I tell you, I never saw a more bitter or angry looking little girl in my life.”

”I was out in the Shroud looking for wild herbs and I saw her dragging someone that looked like a Garlean soldier. Not like, dragging on the ground but helping along. She was moving with a purpose though, kept looking around like she was expecting to be chased.”

PC rumors:

((Characters I've interacted with free to add))

”Hornet is one of the best fighters in Eorzea. She'd have your back any time. Just be aware she's going to be staring at your ass while she does it.” - Anais Fleurdevide

"When I first met her, her fierce nature intimidated me. But her love for my brother told me there was more. Now... I know there is a loving and tender side to her. She has helped me greatly, and I hope she and I can be like sisters someday." - Roen Deneith

"Good n' true. I believe tha' statement about her every bit as much as I did th' day I told her tha', despite what she thinks o' herself. She is a fierce warrior an' th' woman I love, Tha' said, stay on her good side." - Gharen Wolfsong

"After the... after I saw her, I believe she came to me in a dream. Her axe was glistening. It would be best if I avoided her, I think. Yes. That would be best. - Delial Grimsong

"Honour would have been the very last quality I expected to find in a woman who once robbed me blind. Hornet is... A pleasant surprise. Not at all how I remember her, but then as unpleasant as our first meeting was, perhaps she truly is a testament to how the cycles can change us for the better." - Brynhilde Wulf

"Never have I met a snake filled with so much venom. She'll lure you into her patch of grass and make you think that everything is okay, but the moment you turn your back she'll sink her fangs right into your neck. I'm surprised there has not been a leve issued out by the guild to put that beast down." - Dennthota Ahtahrmwyn

"Honestly, I was intimidated by her at first, but I think she's sweeter than she acts. She's always stayed out of trouble when I've been around, but I'd never want to see her angry." - Aya Foxheart

"An impressive fighter, if I do say so myself. Beautiful to behold, when she's not charging at you with all piss and vinegar." - Edgar Von Gandervalt

OOC notes

There is a solid chance you have seen Hornet before, she moves frequently through Limsa Lominsa and Ul'dah. If you were a refugee in Thanalan after the Calamity there is a chance that Hornet has robbed or otherwise inconvenienced you.